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Best Management Practices for Digital Projects 7 & 8

As your agency grows and scales you’re going to hit more bumps in the road and make more mistakes, it’s inevitable and it’s a part of growing pains. When project managers make mistakes though the consequences tend to be much worse. After all, your agency’s success is dependent on having happy clients and profitable projects. Without those things growing is physically impossible.

So how do you reduce errors from your project managers? They’re only human after all!

You make them adhere to these best management practices. They have been put to the test thousands of times and I know from experience that if you follow them you will have happier clients, smoother projects, and greater success.

7. Client Accountability

Some people tend to assume all responsibility, it's just their nature. I'm looking at you agency owners! But the truth of the matter is that clients are responsible for their actions and should be held accountable. If they're abusing the system and you're not holding them accountable to the parameters agreed on in the proposal then you're going to run into problems

If they agreed to only communicate through the project management portal, hold them accountable. If they agreed to send all login credentials within 24 hours, hold them accountable. If they agreed to only go through one round of revisions, hold them accountable.

You and your agency are expected to uphold the proposal on your end and you should expect clients to uphold their end. Imagine what a fit the client would have if you wanted to go live a week late! To keep the project on time and on budget you need the client to cooperate and do their part. So don't put all of the responsibility on yourself or the project manager, both parties should be held accountable.

A little pain upfront is better than a lot of pain later on. If your project hits a bump or something goes wrong, communicate that with your clients. Being transparent means you aren't keeping things from your client or being deceptive. Now, this may not always be the easiest thing to do but clients will appreciate it and it will save your butt in the long run.

I have a stone on my desk with the engraving "Above the Line" on it. This reminds me to take personal responsibility, do the right thing, and stay honest, even when times are tough. Following this practice helped me gain loyal customers and avoid legal troubles.

That’s a wrap for this series. Hopefully, you’ve learned how to streamline your project lifecycle and create happier clients.

Just in case you missed them make sure you check out the rest of the series: